Cheat's Samosas

Classic Indian samosas in a new jacket, literally!

Inspired by something I saw the lovely, Nadiya Hussain making on her television programme, this recipe uses shop bought tortillas instead of pastry, which are then baked in the oven instead of being deep fried, which makes a lighter version of this Indian classic. The recipe below is for my own vegetarian version of a samosa filling and makes enough for about 15 samosas when using small tortillas (20cm) with some leftover mixture to use later.

Makes: 30

INGREEDIENTS

The quantities below make about 15 samosas. You can easily make more by doubling up. The main thing is that you have equal amounts of all the vegetables.

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 cup onion, diced (about 1 onion)

• 1 cup potato, peeled and diced (about 1 large potato)

• 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced (about 2 carrots)

• 1 cup of sweet corn (about 1 tin)

• 1 cup frozen peas

• 1 tbsp cumin seeds

• 1 tbsp mustard seeds

• 2 chillies, chopped (deseeded for a milder taste)

• 2 cloves garlic, grated

• 1 finger of ginger, peeled and grated

• 1 tbsp curry paste of choice (I use Balti)

• 8 wholemeal tortillas (20cm in diameter)

• 1 egg, beaten

METHOD

For the filling:

• Cook the potato and carrots in salted boiling water for about 10 minutes

• Drain and leave for later

• Heat up the oil in the pan

• Fry the mustard and cumin seeds until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes)

• Add the onions and fry until soft and golden

• Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a couple of minutes

• Add the curry paste and fry for another couple of minutes

• Add all vegetables, includiung the potato and carrot and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes

• You should have a fairly moist curry with no sauce, that clumps together with the help of the cooked potatoes. If it seems too dry, you can add a splash of water to loosen it or mash it briefly with a potato masher. You want it to be mushed enough to hold together, but not too wet so that you can still see the individual vegetables

Folding and making the samosas:

• Cut the tortillas in half

• Take one, lay on a chopping board with the flat edge facing upwards.

• Fold the left hand corner down to the middle to make a little triangle and brush with a little egg

• Fold the other corner down on top of the egg and press together to 'glue' the two pieces together

• You should have a little triangular pocket with the pointy end at the top

• Pinch the pointy bit together to seal it

• Pick it up and fill with about 1 tbsp of mixture. Make sure not to overfill it as otherwise you may break the tortilla or it may burst out when in the oven

• Seal it shut by using the egg as glue along the open edges, pinching them together. You can (CAREFULLY) use a fork to crimp the edges

• Repeat until all the tortillas are filled or the mixture is finished

Baking:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C

• Brush the samosas with a little oil

• Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown

You can either serve them straight away or let them cool down. They are delicious both piping hot and at room temperature. Once cool, they freeze really well, so it's worth doubling up and making more of them. Any leftover filling can also be frozen or is great fried in a little oil the next day and served with rice. Alternatively, you could add a splash of boiling water and whizz up with a stick blender to make a wonderful curried veg soup!

Enjoy! Joseph